Hmmm… The article used for my last Opinion-Ed review was pretty insulting, but this time I’ve swung the pendulum back to attack the right with this review, with so much ammo in one place I almost do not know where to start. It is so easy to knock down extremists I almost feel like cheating… almost. Anyway, for this review I’ve chosen one of the Right-wing darlings, Anne Coulter, in her blog entry from annecoulter.com titled “SIX-FIGURE BUS DRIVERS AND OTHER WORKING-CLASS HEROES”
In this article Anne discusses the attempt of Wisconsin’s new Republican Governor to disband the public sectors Employees Union. The point she is trying to make is that the public sector employees are acting in their own self interest and that they should not be hailed as hero’s of the working class. Unfortunately, this takes the form of a seemingly endless rant full of anything but facts related to the subject at hand accompanied by the usual exaggerations and name calling. Since the republicans have traditionally been backed by business interests, who hate unions, this comes as little surprise.
Anyway, Lets start picking this one apart shall we?
Anne says: “Can we stop acting as if people who work for the government are the heroes of working people?
Fine, we understand that Wisconsin public sector employees like the system that pays them an average of $76,500 per year, with splendiferous benefits, and are fighting like wildcats against any proposed reforms to that system. But it's madness to keep treating people who are promoting their own self-interest as if they are James Meredith walking into the University of Mississippi.”
Lets see, when I took math, average meant the middle value… that means that at least half of public sector employees make under the 76,500. Odds are these are the Police, Firefighters, Sanitation workers, Clerks etc. These lower wages will be offset by the Managers, Directors and department heads, Engineers and Scientists. A quick review of Salary websites show teachers in Wisconsin making an average of 50k, and a fact check of their benefits comes out to about 25K. This is a job that requires at least a 4 year education if not a masters, plus continuing education. I’m sure the Jobs requiring less education will make less.
My fact check reference, politifact.com, noted a left leaning study showing that public sector employees in Wisconsin made on average 5-6% less than private industry, and a right leaning study countering that by showing they made about 5% more. If neither study can come up with any figures further off than that, then I can only assume that the public sector employees are making about what they should compared to private industry and that the collective bargaining process did indeed work as intended.
Anne goes on: “Yes, we understand that public sector employees got themselves terrific overtime, holiday, pension and health care deals through buying politicians with their votes and campaign money. But now, responsible elected officials in Wisconsin are trying to balance the budget.
MSNBC is covering the fight in Wisconsin as if it's the 9/11 attack -- and the Republicans are al-Qaida. Its entire prime-time schedule is dedicated to portraying self- interested government employees as if they're Marines taking on the Taliban. The network's Ed Schultz bellows that it is "morally wrong" to oppose the demands of government employees.
Yes, and I guess pornographers are noble when they launch a full-scale offensive against obscenity laws.
Public sector workers are pursuing their own narrow financial interests to the detriment of everyone else in their states. That's fine, but can we stop pretending it's virtuous?”
OK, my previous fact checking showed that these public sector workers got “average” salary and benefits, not terrific. They did this not through “buying politicians”, but through collective bargaining process. If Anne has one shred of evidence for her accusation, I challenge her to present it. In addition the unions had agreed to several reductions in salary and benefits to help with the state budget situation, however, the governor continued to push to dissolve the union, not to reduce costs to the state but to eliminate their future collective bargaining rights. C’mon Anne, instead of bringing up pornographers that have nothing to do with this situation, try explaining how NOT paying public sector employees fair wages is going to help the state when the most competent employees will leave for the private sector, leaving mostly the lesser/inferior employees who are still willing to work for lower wages and benefits.
Annes next outburst: “Because of the insane union contracts in Wisconsin, one Madison bus driver, John E. Nelson, was able to make $159,000 in 2009 -- about $100,000 of which in overtime pay. Jackie Gleason didn't make that much playing bus driver Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners." Seven bus drivers took home more than $100,000 that year.
When asked about the outrageous overtime pay for bus drivers -- totaling $1.94 million in 2009 alone -- Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson said: "That's the contract."
It's ludicrous to suggest that these union contracts were fairly bargained. Only one side was at the negotiating table. Ordinary people with jobs were not at the meetings where public sector compensation was discussed.”
OK, so a 59K a year bus driver earns another 100K in overtime. My experience in business says that this employee worked 80 hour weeks to do this. This tells me that management failed to hire enough drivers to cover the routes and thus, there was a shortage of bus drivers. This guy took up the slack, and accordingly received overtime pay for working almost twice as many hours as the average American. If you don’t want to pay overtime, hire enough people to do the job. If you can’t hire enough people, then economics says you are not paying enough for the work, not too much.
To suggest that only one side was at the negotiating table when these contacts were bargained just because ordinary workers were not present is yet another long stretch. Ordinary people with jobs were at work Anne… they were represented by elected officials. That is how government works.
Anne then goes on a tirade for several paragraphs on how several California politicians were “wronged” by unions when they supported their opponents… what does that have to do with Wisconsin Anne? Do you have any Wisconsin examples? Sounds like normal politics to me, the union will support candidates they think best represent their viewpoint just like any other special interest groups. Voters can still decide for themselves.
Finally getting back to the subject, Anne goes on “Fine, we like teachers, firemen and police officers. We appreciate them. (And for the record, it is statistically more dangerous to be a farmer, fisherman, steelworker or pilot than a cop or fireman. Soldiers also have pretty dangerous jobs, and they don't get to strike.)
Does that mean we should pay them $1 million dollars a year? How about $10 million? After all, these are the people who educate our kids, run into burning buildings and take dangerous criminals off our streets!
Assuming the answer is no, then apparently we're allowed to discuss government workers' compensation -- even though they do important work. As George Bernard Shaw concluded his famous quip (often attributed to Winston Churchill), 'Now, we're just negotiating over the price.'
Why do public sector employees have absurd overtime rules? Why don't they pay for their own health insurance? Why do they get to retire at age 45 with a guaranteed pension of 65 percent of their last year's pay -- as state police in New Jersey do?"
OK, show me one example of public workers wanting a million dollars, they want descent living wages comparable to the public sector, which is what they were getting. Farmers are self employed, Pilots make exceptional wages compared to public workers, fisherman and steelworks are private sector employees so economics dictate their wages. Pilots and steelworkers belong to unions and farmers and fisherman belong to coops, why deny public sector employees the right to organize too?
Soldiers can’t strike but they voluntarily sign on the dotted line, and they get their living expenses paid for their entire enlistment. After 4 years they get a paid education and VA healthcare, I’m sure any public sector employee would gladly give up their right to strike for these kinds of benefits after only 4 years on the job. Soldiers also get to a similar pension after 20-25 years of service, so they can retire BEFORE age 45.
And what do the State Police in New jersey have to do with Wisconsin?
Apples and oranges and irrelevant comparisons don’t convince me Anne.
Anne finally ends with: “This is asymmetrical warfare. Seven percent of the population cares intensely about public sector union contracts -- and nothing else. The remaining 93 percent of voters can't be bothered to care.
Meanwhile, state after state spirals into bankruptcy.”
If 93 percent of voters don’t care about public sector union contracts, then they can’t be as horrendous as you claim Anne. Then why is the governor going through all the effort to destroy the union instead of renegotiating wages as the unions offered?
Show me some numbers proving that unions were causing the economic dilemma... Is it the unions or is it big business exporting jobs overseas and eroding the tax base? Why did your party vote to keep a tax break in place allowing businesses to deduct the cost of moving jobs overseas? We are paying these corporations to erode the tax base and allowing them to then continue to import these products and compete in our market without contributing to our public infrastructure.
Let’s look at corruption and graft steering big contracts to publically connected firms that then mismanage the projects with massive cost overruns. If you’re so concerned about our economy let’s look at the whole picture.
In respect to this massive rant of irrelevancy, I shall counter with a single extremist quote of my own…
"We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their right to strike" - Adolf Hitler, May 2, 1933
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
